BITS & PIECES

Trio still has what it takes to entertain

By Emory SchleyColumnist

Published: Saturday, February 9, 2013 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, February 8, 2013 at 6:36 p.m.

A couple of Saturdays back, Dearly Beloved and I attended The Kingston Trio concert at On Top of the World. I only saw one empty seat in the place after the crowd settled in, and that was the seat on the other side of DB, who enjoyed the extra elbow room, I'm sure. But whoever was assigned that seat missed a really great performance.

Local favorite Chip Morris, radio personality extraordinaire (and sometimes Ocala Civic Theatre thespian), brought his sparkling announcing voice to the event and helped keep the program moving smoothly along in the consummate professional manner we all enjoy.

During the very first number, Bill Zorn broke a string on his guitar, but fortunately that had no influence on what was to come. The crowd enjoyed a number of old KT favorites like “Tom Dooley,” “MTA” and “Scotch and Soda,” all of which found permanent residence on my iPod Touch and Mac long ago.

They filled out the rest of the show with stories and an eclectic mix of stimulating musical numbers that kept the crowd happy and calling for more.

I was hoping to see a bit more emphasis on the banjo because I'm convinced part of our troubles in this world today directly relate to the dearth of good banjo music in our society, and I always look forward to the happy music those tinkling, ringing instruments produce. It's difficult to be anything but happy when an infectious banjo melody tickles the air. But I will admit the show was quite enjoyable despite George Grove replacing his banjo with a guitar on a number of the songs.

I always thought the scintillating banjo runs and licks that the original KT banjoist Dave Guard brought to their music was the magical ingredient that made the trio's music so special. It was the banjo that mostly made the Kingston Trio stand out from the crowd in the days of old. But, that's just my opinion.

I know some folks just don't like banjos. I once met a person who didn't like watermelon either — so go figure!

It was still a most excellent show, and one I'll go to again should they ever have a repeat performance here in Beautiful Marion County.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Which local concerts have you attended, either at Silver Springs or elsewhere in the county?

FALLEN HERO: Fort McCoy's Libby Rawson wrote: “I am president of the Amvets Post 19 Ladies Auxiliary in Fort McCoy. We are the veterans group that built the monument for the Fallen Heroes of Marion County at the Ocala/ Marion County Veterans Memorial Park. Sadly, we are having to add a name to our monument — PFC Markie Simms. He was killed in action on Dec. 29, 2012.

“I had the honor of meeting his widow, Shakela Simms, last week and she is an amazingly strong young woman who is six months pregnant with their child. Our Amvets are giving her a baby shower on Sunday, April 7, and we would love to invite the public. We want to honor her and her husband and their unborn child. The festivities will start at 3 p.m.

“We are located on County Road 318 about 2 or 3 miles east of the blinking light at Fort McCoy. Our address is 13131 E. County Road 316 for those with a GPS. Kathy MacLaren is in charge of Shakela's baby shower and people can call her at 236-2396. I hope everyone will come out.”

VOWEL ‘NONSENSE': Ocala's Richard Frow wrote: “I was reading your column today about the so-called vowel ‘nonsense.' I've learned that we can keep learning in life if we just keep an open mind. The man who wrote in and did not receive a response might be surprised to know that there are two words that have no a, e, i, o, u vowels. They are rhythm and syzygy.”

Richard, those aren't the only ones. There are plenty more of them, such as by, nymph, why, tryst, my, try, myth, lynx, myrrh, try, fly, lynch, sphynx, dry, hymn, crypt — in fact, you could almost fill up the remainder of this column with examples. It just all goes to show, as I said in that previous column, some people (like the unnamed fellow previously mentioned) paid attention in high school English class ... and some did not!

Send comments to slyguy73@gmail.com and include your FULL name and town. This column appears each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and online at www.ocala.com.

<p>A couple of Saturdays back, <b>Dearly Beloved</b> and I attended The Kingston Trio concert at On Top of the World. I only saw one empty seat in the place after the crowd settled in, and that was the seat on the other side of DB, who enjoyed the extra elbow room, I'm sure. But whoever was assigned that seat missed a really great performance.</p><p>Local favorite <b>Chip Morris</b>, radio personality extraordinaire (and sometimes Ocala Civic Theatre thespian), brought his sparkling announcing voice to the event and helped keep the program moving smoothly along in the consummate professional manner we all enjoy.</p><p>During the very first number, Bill Zorn broke a string on his guitar, but fortunately that had no influence on what was to come. The crowd enjoyed a number of old KT favorites like “Tom Dooley,” “MTA” and “Scotch and Soda,” all of which found permanent residence on my iPod Touch and Mac long ago.</p><p>They filled out the rest of the show with stories and an eclectic mix of stimulating musical numbers that kept the crowd happy and calling for more.</p><p>I was hoping to see a bit more emphasis on the banjo because I'm convinced part of our troubles in this world today directly relate to the dearth of good banjo music in our society, and I always look forward to the happy music those tinkling, ringing instruments produce. It's difficult to be anything but happy when an infectious banjo melody tickles the air. But I will admit the show was quite enjoyable despite George Grove replacing his banjo with a guitar on a number of the songs.</p><p>I always thought the scintillating banjo runs and licks that the original KT banjoist Dave Guard brought to their music was the magical ingredient that made the trio's music so special. It was the banjo that mostly made the Kingston Trio stand out from the crowd in the days of old. But, that's just my opinion.</p><p>I know some folks just don't like banjos. I once met a person who didn't like watermelon either — so go figure!</p><p>It was still a most excellent show, and one I'll go to again should they ever have a repeat performance here in <i>Beautiful Marion County</i>.</p><p><b>QUESTION OF THE DAY: </b> Which local concerts have you attended, either at Silver Springs or elsewhere in the county?</p><p><b>FALLEN HERO: </b> Fort McCoy's <b>Libby Rawson</b> wrote: “I am president of the Amvets Post 19 Ladies Auxiliary in Fort McCoy. We are the veterans group that built the monument for the Fallen Heroes of Marion County at the Ocala/ Marion County Veterans Memorial Park. Sadly, we are having to add a name to our monument — PFC Markie Simms. He was killed in action on Dec. 29, 2012.</p><p>“I had the honor of meeting his widow, Shakela Simms, last week and she is an amazingly strong young woman who is six months pregnant with their child. Our Amvets are giving her a baby shower on Sunday, April 7, and we would love to invite the public. We want to honor her and her husband and their unborn child. The festivities will start at 3 p.m.</p><p>“We are located on County Road 318 about 2 or 3 miles east of the blinking light at Fort McCoy. Our address is 13131 E. County Road 316 for those with a GPS. Kathy MacLaren is in charge of Shakela's baby shower and people can call her at 236-2396. I hope everyone will come out.”</p><p><b>VOWEL 'NONSENSE': </b> Ocala's <b>Richard Frow</b> wrote: “I was reading your column today about the so-called vowel 'nonsense.' I've learned that we can keep learning in life if we just keep an open mind. The man who wrote in and did not receive a response might be surprised to know that there are two words that have no a, e, i, o, u vowels. They are rhythm and syzygy.”</p><p>Richard, those aren't the only ones. There are plenty more of them, such as by, nymph, why, tryst, my, try, myth, lynx, myrrh, try, fly, lynch, sphynx, dry, hymn, crypt — in fact, you could almost fill up the remainder of this column with examples. It just all goes to show, as I said in that previous column, some people (like the unnamed fellow previously mentioned) paid attention in high school English class ... and some did not!</p><p><i>Send comments to slyguy73@gmail.com and include your FULL name and town. This column appears each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and online at www.ocala.com.</i></p>